Watching Out for Watchman Nee

by G. Richard Fisher

This article first appeared in the January-March,
1985 issue of the Personal Freedom Outreach newsletter (Vol. 5, No 1, page
5).

Many Christians uncritically accept the writings
of Watchman Nee even though few know anything about his background. Many
are impressed by the volume of his work and the dogmatism and feeling of
deep spirituality that characterize his writings. His ideas and books still
influence Charismatics, fundamentalists and people in between.

But one need not be a theologian to discover
that his teachings call for scrutiny and caution by Christians. Much can
be learned about Nee from a cursory reading of some of his books and the
writings of others who were around him. These show that his theology developed
through encounters with four different people and it was from these that
he "borrowed" ideas extensively. Each new book seemed to develop from "discoveries"
received from these teachers.

Nee's basic writings cover over 40 volumes
and have been researched by Dana Roberts. His findings are not flattering
to Nee and are presented in his book Understanding Watchman Nee.
This writer is indebted to Roberts for much of the material in this article.

Nee was born Nee Shi-Tsu in November 1903.
His mother, a Methodist mission convert, later changed his name to "Bell
ringer," or Watchman, with all the Christian connotations. He claimed conversion
to Christianity in April 1920. At a Bible school in Shanghai, he came under
the influence of a female teacher, Miss Yu. Under her instruction he seriously
sought a "second blessing." He later said he felt he had "recovered" truth
for the church and taught four subsequent experiences after conversion.

Miss Yu directed Nee to Miss M.E. Barber, who
taught him in the Keswick concept of the filling of the Spirit. In February
1922, Nee claimed, he was "baptized in the Spirit" and put himself under
the continuing instruction of Barber. Barber then was responsible for the
development of Nee's perfectionists theology. Barber also convinced Nee
of the truth of the "partial rapture" theory assigning carnal believers
to a kind of Protestant purgatory. Nee admitted that in his writings on
the book of Revelation, he depended on a book from Barber's library by
Robert Gonett [Govett] that teaches a partial rapture. Thus we see how
he got these new "insights" that became the basis for new books.

Later, Barber allowed Nee to read the works
of Jesse Penn Lewis when she thought he was "mature enough," Roberts says.
Penn Lewis, a mystic with a Welsh Methodist background, saw many parts
to man's inner nature. Her literaure, considered "holiness literature,"
is the main source for Nee's Spiritual Man series, in which
he developed a gnostic view of man, Roberts says. Nee also got doses of
Catholic mysticism through the writings of Madame Jeanne Guyon, as published
in Penn Lewis' magazine.

Nee continued to read widely and when Barber
exposed him to the writings of John Darby, he found the basis for his ecclesiology,
or thoughts on the church. From that point, everything Nee wrote on the
church is easily identified with the teachings of the Plymouth Brethren.
He rejected clergy as unscriptural.

During this time Nee also professed to be led
by inner leadings. He justified this subjective means of revelation by
saying that the ways of God are not known by external means but by "internal
registrations." Again, he was rejecting external authority.

Nee had his own eclectic system developed when
he encountered another woman in 1935. Elizabeth Fischbacker introduced
him to Pentecostal theology and speaking in tongues. Nee did not regard
tongues as unbiblical but never spoke in tongues himself.

In 1942, Nee took over the running of his brother
George's chemical factory. He consigned all the property to the church
and sought to have the church members as the factory workers. As a result
he contradicted previous positions he had taken regarding disassociation
of the church and business. In 1949, Mao-Tse Tung came to power and Communist
China was born. Nee, a factory owner, was seen as an imperialist and eventually
was jailed. He remained in prison until his death in 1972.

The teachings that developed over Nee's lifetime
and out of his encounters with these women and the teachings they directed
him to are dangerous to Christians seeking clear guidelines to follow.
Space allows a listing of only a few of the problems in Nee's teachings.

* Nee outlines no method of Bible study and interpretation and appears
to deny evangelical hermeneutics. In his book Spiritual Authority,
he sets himself and his elders up as the unquestionable authorities. By
all appearances, Nee saw himself not as a servant but as a guru.

One gets the impression from Nee that the Bible
was not nearly as important as Christians generally consider it. In his
book The Ministry of God's Word, Nee says, "Words alone cannot
be considered God's Word." In this book, Nee becomes very philosophical,
mystical and incoherent. He says that only as we deliver the Word in terms
of the "reality behind it," using what he calls "Holy Spirit memory" and
"presenting the pictures as well as speaking the words" will the words
be correct; otherwise they are not real.

* Nee overemphasizes emotions. In The Ministry of God's Word,
he claims that the effectiveness of a preacher's delivery is a product
of his emotions. If a preacher does not feel emotionally charged in delivery,
"The Spirit is stuck" and the "Spirit is inevitably arrested," Nee says.
He continued, "The Spirit flows through the channel of emotion." Then he
arrives at a strange conclusion: "Nose in the Scripture stands for feeling.
Smelling is a most delicate act, man's feeling is most delicate." Therefore,
Nee says, a preacher in speaking needs to "mix feelings with the words
spoken, else his words are dead. If our feeling lags behind, or words are
stripped of the spirit." To say as Nee does, on page 210, that the Holy
Spirit only rides on feeling is dangerous.

* Nee uses terms imprecisely. One example is his writing about a minister's
receiving "revelations" in his "Holy Spirit memory" and those revelations
being remembered in us by the Holy Spirit. This sort of metaphysical mumbo
jumbo is impossible to understand, since there is no direct scriptural
reference to a "Holy Spirit memory."

When a Christian begins to see Nee as a guide
in determining the value of other Christian writers, or sees Nee's writings
as a key to spirituality, that person is headed for trouble. Nee's presuppositions
are suspect in light of the Word of God. His books provide grist for cult
groups such as The Way, The Alamo Foundation, the Children of God and other
groups. The astute believer should watch out for Watchman Nee.

Special Note: "[ ]" indicates correction to misspelled name in
the body of text.